I love him as a walk on. Prime get for us. I like it less if it turns out he's on scholarship, if only because that probably means Goodbye: Kozan. But Gibbs always wanted to play for Michigan. I'm glad he's going to get his chance.

That had nothing to do with the thinking. Rather, the theory ran, if they whiffed on Kozan now, they might offer Gibbs. The assumption runs that us why Gibbs, a lifelong M fan, hadn't committed to a school or announced he would walk-on to date...he was waiting to see if he could get his offer.

I'd like to think this meant we sealed the deal with Kozan, but at the same time, I assume Gibbs would have walked on in the end at any rate.

He is a great guy. Very intellegent and nice. Will be a great representative for our program as a peson. Also, check him destroy ppl in his senior highlight vid. Looks like Michael Oher in the Blindside.

It's not a requirement, but that's often how the coaches find walk-ons. They hear about kids that are already accepted to the school and can compete with the practice squad and are high character people that help the team GPA, and obviously there are always exceptions like Kovacs that make a huge impact.

Or they take people like Gibbs and Kenny Allen that have other D1 offers but really want to be a Wolverine, or people like Gary Yerden who's a physical freak and a project with high upside.

Great pickup for a preferred walk on. We need more bodies on the OL and he has good size so with some good coaching maybe he could be a starter in the future.Plus I love any kid that wants to go blue and turns down some lesser scholarships just to fulfill his dream. Although I wouldn't have minded if he went to Ball State just because I go to school there and he would have been a nice addition here because Ball State football is a joke.

Just so you guys all know, there's not going to be a full-blown "Hello" post for Gibbs tonight, but I will have a writeup on him in tomorrow's recruiting roundup. Since there's not much else to discuss in tomorrow's post, I'll have a fair amount of detail on him then.

As said above, it's always a huge plus to get a guy with D1 offers to accept a walk-on spot, and Gibbs has legit size and talent. Should be an interesting player to watch going forward.

Probably would give those extra scholarship spots out to upperclassmen walk-ons first. For good reason, seniority tends to be the trump when it comes to that. Bet Nathan Brink is first in line this year.

whoa, hold on there. i would have loved to go to U of M instead of eastern, but there are certain majors where going to U of M won't make any difference over going to EMU, like theater, classics, art, philosophy, hospitality, ect. It would be 100% cooler to go to U of M over EMU regardless of major, but it isn't financially responsible to pay for a U of M degree in dance over a free dance degree at EMU.

i don't care how many professors there are in the classics depatment, if you stop at a bachelor degree you won't find work whether you went to U of M or EMU. This was all said under the assumption of stopping after you get a bachelor. obviously U of M is much better in a lot of areas if you want to only get a bachelor, but some like the ones i listed above, it doesn't matter where you go

that is complete bullshit and you know it. if you want to go for a masters in history after U of M and a masters in finance after EMU, then you will have a MUCH easier time getting into a top university for a master in history, you'll really have to shine with the finance degree from EMU to get into a top program. but to say that a history degree from U of M will get you a finance job easier than a finance degree from EMU is ridiculous. sorry they teach us applicable finance over at EMU instead of the hoity-toity theoretical finance that U of M teaches.

EDIT: One of the cooks at bagger daves i worked with a while back had a degree from michigan in mechanical engineering. you can still be a fuck-up with a degree from U of M

Well, sure, but screwing up your life (or finding serenity. Hell, I don't know, maybe being a cook makes him happy) has nothing to do with where you go to school. I'm guessing he's not a cook because his degree relegates him to that profession.

Thanks, I didn't realize that. I thought that I was learning or something when I was at the University of Michigan. And when I took a job at another AAU university as a professor, which I still hold, I was under the stupid assumption that I was doing more than producing employees, but actually teaching people how to read, write, and think intelligently about the world around them. My fault, I guess.

But even with this sarcasm aside -- my graduate program would take a U of M student. We wouldn't take a student from EMU. This hypothetical student couldn't learn the skills at EMU that we require.

seriously, i'm not even mad that i don't go to u of m because who would want to be required to act like a pompous douchebag, but what the fuck are they putting in the kool-aid at orientation that makes you fuckers think you are hot shit? If a michigan degree was sooooooo good then why are there so many fucking losers with michgan liberal arts degrees working in coffee shops and restaurants around town? I've met a ton of graduates stuck in this town making 25k a year or less in a job that isn't even remotely related to their degree. give me a fucking break, sorry if they tell you that because you will go to U of M you will become successful because a shit ton of you won't.

also I didnt know that professors had the authority to decide who is and isnt admitted. i figured it was based on gmat/gre and gpa, but I'm sure that your superiors would be glad to know that if it is up to you who is admitted that you are blindly looking at the school they got their bachelor from. any respectable grad program doesnt look at just the school, they look at the student as a whole, standardized test scores, employment, referrals, GPA, ect. Anyway, your school must be a pretty shitty for you to not even name it.

anyway, you are operating under a number of false assumptions. professors make admissions decisions for masters & phd programs in the humanities, social sciences, etc. their superiors don't care how they make the admissions decisions because professors are pretty autonomous when it comes to things like this. academic graduate programs could give a shit about your employment history, and only use standardized test scores to rule people out and save themselves the trouble of reading applications from people who can't hack it. it would be possible for someone from EMU to get into a top program in virtually any field, but it would take an extraordinarily unusual student to do it in a lot of disciplines. competition for spots is fierce, and there are a glut of applicants with much, much better pedigrees.

the only people who go into academic graduate programs are those who never learned a marketable skill. for all of you who never made it past graduation and just kept on going to school, congratulations

well, i'm not sure i'm the one who should be embarrassed. i thought they had a pretty good finance program at U of M? obviously they didnt teach you much about rational financial decision making because those companies will pay for their employees to go to grad school if they show promise. good choice though, dude

even better, what useless PhD are you going for that is unrelated to any applicable business skill? leisure management? hospitality? wait, I know, you are getting worked up because I insulted the dance program at U of M. are you a dancer? you claimed you are getting paid several times less than you would have been making at one of your make believe companies and yet i'm a dipshit for calling you out on your decision making skills, good one

i refuse to believe you can't figure out from my comments what my phd is in.

also, one of the features of your value system that a university--ANY university--should've at least caused you to get some perspective on is the idea that monetary factors are the only things that should go into rational decision making. i'm doing exactly what i want to do, all the time. ever seen that sign at jimmy john's about the fisherman? here's a link. it's like that.

also, the highest paid professors at U of M are professors who were also professionals at some point. not somebody who graduated with a PhD in library sciences like you probably did. you probably couldnt find a job after graduating so you just decided to go back to school because you didnt have any other choice........just like with a philosophy degree. or dance. or theater. or classics. but..but..i have a michigan degree, I should be given a job even though I'm a glorified librarian. fuck off, your parents were probably fucking hippies who told you it was ok to be whatever you wanted or had money and paid for you to go to school for 8 years since you would have to with the degree you chose.

in 2008, philosophy professors at UM made between 67k and 180k in base salary, and some of them have grant money in addition. it's public record. you can look it up here.

anyway, i never tried to find a job after graduating (though, like i said, i was offered one at one of the companies on that list, without even bothering to apply). my parents are businesspeople, not hippies.

but here's the thing you really don't get: i don't sit around wishing people would pay me because i have a michigan degree. people actually do pay me, and in exchange i read, write when i want to, and serve as a GSI every other semester. you probably make more than i do, but i've probably gotten more free international trips to appear at conferences than you have. and i do whatever i want, whenever i want. i'll take the trade.

anybody who spends 100k just to learn how to read and write is a fucking retard. you don't go to college to feel good about yourself, you go to learn a marketable skill. and they say those who cant do, teach. fucking idiot

thats cool since i know several people who recently graduated from the theater department and moved to NY and are now begging people for head shots and part time work, it doesnt fucking matter what a school is ranked in theater or dance, it is based on the candidate.

you might have learned something about the statistical impotence of anecdotal evidence.

re: your "marketable skill" joke of a post up there, universities are not trade schools. people who only want a marketable skill should go to a trade school or a community college. universities are for people who want a real education. i would have thought EMU students would appreciate that. if all you care about is a marketable skill, why not just go to WCC or something? it's a lot cheaper than EMU.

yep, going to school for dance, theater, sports management, leisure management, hospitality, ect, those equate to an education. where is the educational value in that? there are plenty of worthless majors at U of M. but gosh darn it, if you want to reed and rite reel swell like you hav to go to U of M, thay done dont teech us that stuf at EMU. because even when you are a dance student, U of M gives you the knowledge you need to cure cancer or balance the national deficit, its not all english and math and stuff you can learn just fine at eastern

Michigan has the number 5 philosophy department in the world. Aside from being unranked, EMU doesn't have a single faculty member with a Ph.D. from a top 20 department. Let me know if you want to continue this discussion.

Per ESPN:
Gibbs is a tough inline blocker who can maul defenders when run blocking; also flashes the explosion and playing strength to knock defenders off the ball when single blocking. Has great size with good athleticism for the offensive guard position at the major level of competition. It appears his frame is very capable on handling additional body mass. We like this guys toughness; comes off the ball aggressive and hard but a little too high at times; must work to lower his pad level on initial contact. Appears to bave some lower body stiffness however we are impressed with his ability to get out of his stance when asked to pull and trap, locating defenders on the move while demonstrating good balance and agility; plays on his feet well in space. Although this prospect is more of a mauler than one who consistently knocks defenders off the line of scrimmage we are impressed with his ability to get movement when single blocking; is a nasty tough finisher who is capable of putting defenders on their backs. If he is to successfully reach for leverage and consistently get a hat on active 1st and 2nd level defenders we see the need to improve initial quickness, first step and pad level. His long arms should be an asset in pass protection; is not heavy legged playing in the center/guard box, flashing the ability to bend and slide his feet. We do feel he plays too tall and must improve his overall balance and base when pass blocking. All areas of hand use will need refinement although we see flashes of strong initial punch and extension. Gibbs appears to be flying under the radar as a BCS prospect. However with his size, potential for growth and toughness we see major level potential at the offensive guard position.

OL don't scream at you in high school unless you're watching them but I saw a few Seaholm games this year and never noticed a D-I OT. Take that for what it's worth; I'm no on-site talent judge (but I wonder what his BMI is) and I wasn't watching him in particular.

IMO, yes. There are a number of reasons, including an unexpected coaching change at the end of his junior year (and not including 'stealing things'), that led to him being 'criminally underrated.' I think Michigan just got a solid 3-4* kid for free.

He should benefit immensly from consistent, great coaching. Seaholm's football program is not exactly a very strong one. It's gone through a lot of changes the past few years and i wouldn't exactly call the staff (at least a couple years ago) the greatest, and during his time there, it went through a lot of changes. Give him consistent, solid coaching around guys better than him and I feel he'll rise to the occasion. I was 2 years ahead of him in high school and was his captain in track & field. From what I recall, he works.